IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/sae/anname/v689y2020i1p26-45.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Of Morals and Markets: Social Exchange and Poverty in Contemporary Urban Mexico

Author

Listed:
  • Mercedes González de la Rocha

Abstract

Based on longitudinal ethnographic research in Guadalajara, Mexico, from the 1980s to present, I argue that there has been a significant change in the availability of mutual help or support networks for the economically disadvantaged. As time and income have become increasingly scarce, people who used to find support in reciprocal social relationships now find that support-givers are in no position to provide assistance for free. Now, people experiencing scarcity find that they must pay for help formerly available through social relations. In other words, care within the family, in contexts of urban poverty, is becoming a commodity. A paradox arises for those who have fewer resources: they are excluded by the market economy, and by resorting to mercantilist values to survive, they are violating moral principles and norms that exclude them even more from social exchange.

Suggested Citation

  • Mercedes González de la Rocha, 2020. "Of Morals and Markets: Social Exchange and Poverty in Contemporary Urban Mexico," The ANNALS of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, , vol. 689(1), pages 26-45, May.
    • Handle: RePEc:sae:anname:v:689:y:2020:i:1:p:26-45
    DOI: 10.1177/0002716220916700
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/0002716220916700
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1177/0002716220916700?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:sae:anname:v:689:y:2020:i:1:p:26-45. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    We have no bibliographic references for this item. You can help adding them by using this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: SAGE Publications (email available below). General contact details of provider: .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.